Regional scleral changes in form-deprivation myopia in chicks

Similar neurochemical events appear to be involved in the development of myopia in chicks and mammals. The rapid post-hatching development of the chick is ideal for studying experimental myopia. In this investigation, one eye of 2-day-old chicks was deprived of form vision for 2 weeks and then compared to the fellow, non-deprived eye by immunohistochemistry and light and electron microscopy. All deprived eyes showed a high refractive error and ocular enlargement. In deprived eyes, the posterior cartilaginous sclera was thicker and the fibrous sclera of the same section was thinner than the control. Scleral morphological changes were restricted to a central button 6-7 mm in diameter (the posterior pole) within the posterior hemisphere, further divided into posterotemporal and posteronasal parts. The most enlarged, posterior cartilaginous structure of deprived sclera could be divided into an inner and an outer zone. The inner zone had many unevenly-arranged chondrocytes, each having a well-developed granular endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi complex and a very irregular cell surface. Numerous S-phase cells and isogenous groups were detected in the outer zone. Hypertrophic chondrocytes were often observed in the innermost region of the outer zone and the outermost region of the inner zone. The boundary between the outer fibrous sclera and the cartilaginous sclera was irregular and obscured in myopic eyes. Spindle-shaped chondrocytes were seen to be in contact with each other. Thick collagen fibrils, usually seen only in the outer fibrous sclera, were present among the chondrocytes. Results of this morphological study suggest an increased proliferation of chondrocytes and active synthesis of extracellular matrix in visually deprived eyes. The elongation of the ocular axis that accompanies myopia is caused primarily by an active remodeling and differentiation in a restricted section of the posterior scleral cartilage. These facts indicate the posterior scleral cartilage may be more immature than cartilage in anterior and lateral segments.